touchnovel Chapter 319 Ms. A's Identity
Chapter 319 Ms. A's Identity
Chapter 319 Ms. A's Identity (5K) (2/2)
Scrimgeour?
Crouch's chaotic mind paused for a moment at the mention of the name.
Rufus-Scrimgeour!?
That tough, loyal Auror office manager?
Fudge would never adopt any of his suggestions, especially recommending a strong-willed and uncontrollable figure like Scrimgeour. Recommending Scrimgeour would mean that he would have absolutely no chance of becoming the head of the Enforcement Division.
unless----
In a flash, Crouch understood.
Lynch didn't care who took over the Department of Law Enforcement; he didn't even want it to be one of his own people.
He recommended Scringer precisely because Fudge would never accept it!
This would exacerbate the conflict between Fudge and the Auror Department, intensify the internal strife within the department, and thus—make Fudge's situation even more difficult, hastening his downfall.
Lynch didn't want a position; he wanted chaos and restructuring of the entire Ministry of Magic's power structure, paving the way for forces he might support in the future, such as those who could maintain the Floo Network in his area.
He himself was the fulcrum for him to move this boulder, and at the same time, he used his international position and the promise to keep secrets to bind himself firmly to his war chariot!
What a ruthless calculation!
What a grand gesture!
Looking into Lin Qi's unfathomable eyes, he realized for the first time that the man's goal was far greater and more dangerous than he had imagined.
This was not just a transaction, but a surgical strike against the highest authority of the Ministry of Magic, and he himself was both the scalpel and the removed organ.
"How do I know you'll keep your word? About the photos, and that position?" Crouch's voice was still dry, all his imposing manner had dissipated, leaving only exhaustion and a struggle to weigh things under immense pressure.
Lynch's offer was too tempting, and the leverage he had been given was too fatal.
Lynch shrugged. "You still have to weigh the pros and cons. But Mr. Crouch, allowing you to transfer to the Cooperation Division with dignity and keep this secret is the least costly and most stable option for me. A former director who has redeemed himself on the international stage, a director of the Cooperation Division who owes me a favor, is far more valuable than a former director who is disgraced and could potentially trigger the biggest scandal in the wizarding world. What I seek is order and control, not mutual destruction in chaos."
The café fell into a deathly silence.
The aroma of the coffee was so strong it was almost suffocating.
Crouch stared at the still, magical photograph on the table. His son's pale face in the photo seemed like a silent accusation, and also a reflection of his own blocked path to becoming a minister. Director of the International Department of Magical Cooperation—a magnificent final destination.
His lifelong ambition was precisely emasculated at this moment.
But compared to complete disgrace, exposure of family secrets, and utter ruin, this is indeed the only way to preserve some dignity and power.
He remained silent for nearly a minute, a silence that felt like an eternity of torture to him. Finally, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he nodded very slowly, almost imperceptibly.
"—Coffee," he said hoarsely, the simple word seeming to have exhausted his last strength. "Give me a cup."
I want the strongest one.
Lin Qi's cold smile finally deepened, a hint of satisfaction flashing across his face.
He didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and made a casual gesture towards the empty counter.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness behind the café counter. A young man in a sharp uniform appeared out of nowhere, carrying a silver tray with a steaming cup of dark, exceptionally fragrant coffee on it. He placed the cup lightly and precisely in front of Crouch, then quietly retreated to his original position and vanished again without a sound.
Crouch didn't touch the coffee right away.
He reached out, his fingertips trembling as he picked up the magic photograph on the table, staring at it intently as if he wanted to burn it through.
Then, as if using all his strength, he pushed the photo back in front of Lynch.
"I will—do as you say." His voice was low, carrying a sense of complete submission, but also a hint of desperate grasping at a straw.
"A wise choice." Lynch picked up his slightly cooled coffee, symbolically touching his lips to it. "Enjoy this coffee, Mr. Crouch. Believe me, the next few days will be very, very busy."
Crouch did not answer.
He picked up the glass of dark liquid, feeling the scalding heat from his palm, but this heat could not dispel the bone-chilling cold in his heart and the faint, newly ignited hope for the distant future.
The night outside the window was still as dark as ink, but he knew that he had just handed over his political life and the biggest secret about himself and his family to one of the most dangerous men in the world in exchange for an uncertain future.
It's in this café called "Midnight Soybean Meal".
Crouch practically dragged himself away; his state of mind at that moment was like the cup of coffee he had just drunk—bitter.
The café door closed behind him, shutting out the "ding-a-ling" sound that signified submission.
Almost the instant the glass door closed, the last trace of the formulaic gentleness on Lin Qi's face vanished completely, leaving only a deep-sea calm.
He didn't look at Crouch's slightly hunched figure disappearing around the street corner; he simply snapped his fingers casually.
The sound was crisp and clear.
All the windows in the café—those that had once displayed the warm interior and empty seats—seemed to have been instantly splashed with thick ink, a deep, opaque black curtain silently sliding down, completely isolating the inside from the outside.
The lighting inside the shop dimmed, with only a few wall lamps casting a pale and concentrated glow that enveloped the table where Lin Qi was sitting, while the rest of the space was plunged into near-absolute darkness.
The air seemed to freeze.
Then, from that deep darkness, a figure silently emerged—it was the same "waiter" in the crisp uniform from before.
He walked steadily to the table, stopped, like a soldier awaiting orders, but his eyes no longer held the previous humility, replaced by a sharp calm.
Lin Qi didn't even fully raise his head; he merely shifted his gaze slightly, landing on the empty space in front of the man.
With a casual flick of his right hand and a slight shake of his wrist, another dark leather armchair, identical to the one Crouch had just been sitting in, slid smoothly and swiftly out of the shadows and came to a precise stop behind the man.
Lin Qi then looked up at the other person and made a simple and clear gesture toward the newly appeared chair.
"sit."
Without the slightest hesitation, the man calmly sat down, leaning back comfortably in his chair, a stark contrast to Crouch's earlier stiffness.
In the dim light, Lynch's voice broke the silence, steady and clear: "The obstacles ahead have been cleared. Barty Crouch will voluntarily and 'gracefully' step aside and recommend Scrimgeour. This will intensify the conflict between Fudge and the Auror's office, plunging the Legal Enforcement Division into a brief power vacuum and chaos."
He paused. "Ms. A... no, Ms. Burns, it's up to you now. Don't let me, or the investors behind us, down."
The man sitting opposite nodded slightly, and an invisible film peeled away from "him," revealing his features being subtly and rapidly adjusted and reshaped.
The crisp, fitted uniform became slightly wider under the flow of magic, outlining a completely different body curve.
Within just two or three seconds, the ordinary-looking, capable-looking "uniformed man" had disappeared, replaced by a woman sitting upright in a chair.
She looked to be around forty years old. Her face wasn't stunning, but she possessed an extraordinary calmness. Her cheekbones were slightly high, and her lips were tightly pressed together, exuding an undeniable determination. Her dark brown hair was meticulously tied into a tight bun at the back of her head, with a few barely noticeable strands of silver interspersed among them, signifying the accumulation of years and wisdom.
Her face showed no surprise, her eyes were sharp, and she had a confident air about her long-held position.
"An enraged Fudge, a Scrimgeour thrust into the spotlight only to be rejected, and a Crouch eager to extricate himself, willing to trade his last vestiges of influence—" Her voice was clearer than the male voice she had been using earlier, yet equally steady, carrying an all-knowing calm. "This is indeed the ideal situation. Chaos is a ladder, but the Department of Law Enforcement doesn't need opportunists after the chaos, but rather those who can rebuild order and justice. When Fudge realizes he can't control the situation, and both the Wizengamor and the Auror teams crave a trustworthy leader—"
She met Lin Qi's gaze, her tone resolute and filled with absolute confidence based on her own abilities and assessment of the situation: "The position of Director of the Legal Enforcement Division will, and must, be taken over by me."
Lin Qi looked at her and raised his coffee cup again: "Then we'll wait for your good news."
The dust stirred up outside Hogsmeade Village that night had not completely settled, but for Sirius Black, the night sky finally let in its first rays of light in twelve years.
The Daily Prophet published an unprecedented front-page statement announcing the Ministry of Magic's withdrawal of all charges, formal payment of fines, and initiation of restitution procedures, accompanied by a blurry yet imposing profile seen from a window of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries.
The Witcher Weekly used sentimental language to review the school friendships and tragic betrayals of the Marauders, portraying Sirius Black as a tragic hero who endured humiliation and hardship.
Meanwhile, the Stone Tower Merchant Guild's newsboard, with its growing influence, presented the timeline of events and key evidence in a calm and restrained narrative style—omitting the means of acquisition and the key points of Wizengamo's verdict—and its impartial stance won the approval of many neutral wizards.
Overnight, Sirius Black's name changed from "traitor who fell into darkness" to "wrongfully convicted hero," from Azkaban's most dangerous prisoner to the focus of the entire wizarding world.
Letters of condolence and gifts nearly overwhelmed St. Mungo's ward, though he himself had no interest in them and left them all to the therapists to handle.
People talked about his perseverance and sighed about his plight, as if overnight, everyone had secretly believed in his innocence.
The atmosphere in the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office at Hogwarts was completely different from the hustle and bustle outside.
Remus-Lupin silently placed old books, a few simple clothes, and a repaired globe into a badly worn leather suitcase.
His movements were slow, reflecting the weakness of someone recovering from a serious injury, and a deep weariness.
The sunlight outside the window was bright, but it couldn't reach his eyes.
An official letter from the Ministry of Magic, signed "regretfully" by Minister Fudge and placed alongside a joint protest letter from parents, sat on the corner of the table. Their core message was the same: given Professor Remus Lupin's werewolf identity and the "serious security incident" he caused at Hogwarts over the weekend, he was "no longer fit" for a teaching position. He was to be dismissed immediately.
Dumbledore did his best to mediate, but in the end he only managed to secure an official explanation for him: "Temporarily taking leave of absence until the end of the semester due to health conditions," along with some financial compensation.
His replacement was Severus Snape.
The appointment itself was like a bitter medicine.
Just as Lupin was carefully placing the last copy of "Dark Powers: A Guide to Self-Defense" into the bottom of the box, there was a polite knock at the door.
Before he could answer, the door was gently pushed open.
Lin Qi stood outside the door, still wearing his sharp suit, with a calm expression on his face.
He walked in, closed the door behind him, and glanced at the now empty bookshelves and the half-packed luggage.
"It seems I've arrived just in time, Professor Lupin," Lynch said in a low voice, breaking the silence in the room.
Lu Ping straightened up, looked at the person who had come, and a complex emotion flashed across his face.
He nodded slightly: "Professor Lynch. Please come in. I'm no longer a professor, just call me Lupin."
He then gestured to the only remaining chair in the room, "It's a bit messy, sorry."
Lin Qi didn't sit down, but stood by the cabinet near the door: "How is your recovery going?"
"The healers at St. Mungo's were very helpful. Aside from the usual weakness after the full moon, I'm fine," Lupin replied simply. He paused, his gaze becoming serious. "Mr. Lynch, I haven't had a proper opportunity yet—thank you."
"For everything Sirius did. Without your plans and—those arrangements—the truth would probably have remained forever buried beneath Peter's lies and my negligence." His gratitude was sincere and heavy, containing remorse for almost making a grave mistake.
"I did what I thought was right and necessary." Lynch accepted his thanks without taking credit. "Sirius's innocence was earned through twelve years of torment. I merely removed a rock from his path. Besides," he said, his tone shifting as his gaze fell on the letter on the corner of the table, "it seems that sometimes moving rocks inevitably results in mud splattering."
Lu Ping followed his gaze, a helpless, slightly bitter smile curving his lips.
"That's fair. My identity—it's always been a problem. Especially after what happened. Parents have the right to worry, and the Ministry of Magic needs an explanation." He seemed to have already accepted the outcome; there wasn't much resentment in his tone, only a calm acceptance of his fate.
"What are your plans next?" Lin Qi asked directly.
Lupin walked to the window, gazing at the familiar outline of the castle and the shimmering black lake in the distance, and remained silent for a moment.
"Let's keep wandering." His voice was soft, as if he were stating something perfectly natural. "Find a place far from the crowds, and spend the next full moon there. Maybe—go to some remote areas and find some odd jobs. I'm used to it."
"Haven't you considered staying? In some other way?" Lynch asked. "Doesn't Headmaster Dumbledore have any other plans?"
"Professor Dumbledore has already done enough for me, and I can't let his reputation be further damaged by my departure." Lupin shook his head. "Besides—I need some time, Remus Lupin needs some time to process everything that has happened this winter."
He didn't say it explicitly, but Lynch understood.
The injustice and reunion with a close friend, the betrayal of another close friend, the danger and near-death experience brought about by his own transformation, and the deep-seated fear and self-blame for losing control and wanting to hurt Harry—all of this needs time to settle.
Lin Qi did not try to persuade him further.
He took a card from the inside pocket of his suit jacket—a thick, smooth-edged Muggle-style business card.
The card was a simple dark gray, with only a name and a phone number printed on it in a clean font; there was no title or address.
He flicked the business card at Lupin.
"If you're tired of wandering and want a relatively stable job that allows you to utilize your unique knowledge," Lynch's voice was calm, as if stating an objective fact, "contact this person. Just say I recommended them. There's a long-term vacancy that needs someone with in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of dark magic creatures, the principles of defense magic, and—less common magical symptoms."
Lu Ping took the business card, his gaze falling on the string of numbers, his eyes filled with surprise and deep doubt.
"A long-term position?" he repeated, the word sounding somewhat foreign to him. "Where? What do you do?"
"You'll find out the specifics once you contact him," Lynch explained. "The salary and benefits will be better than a teaching position at Hogwarts, and it will also provide necessary 'cycle' management support. Of course, the choice is yours."
He didn't elaborate on the employer or the specifics of the job, but the phrase "cycle management support" acted like a key, gently touching the heaviest and most realistic lock in Lupin's heart.
A long-term job that can accommodate his werewolf identity, provide a stable income, and may even help him better control his transformations?
This sounds like a pipe dream.
Lupin remained silent for a long time, his gaze shifting back and forth between the business card and Lynch's calm face.
"Really?" he finally asked, his voice a little hoarse. "Would anyone really be willing to hire a werewolf as a servant?"
"What's the problem with werewolves being slow for him?" Lynch paused. "As far as I know, he has a special curse that targets werewolves, so werewolves aren't much of a threat to him."
A curse specifically designed to target werewolves!?